Paradigm and Considerations

Despite my former blog having a part in it going on about avoiding mere speculation, this blog will deal with some things that are important to consider on the mystic’s path.

My new friend Erik and I have discussed mysticism and specifically Gnosticism at length recently, and some of the ideas we’ve touched on are important to share here. My friend Wes, too, has touched on this with me.

Most of the time, I make a point to the people who are more literalistic in their understanding of the Bible that the map is not the territory. This same principle can be extended to any kind of paradigm, and my major problem in the history of religious consideration is seeing that different world views are sometimes superimposed on reality, many of which are simply not correct. The fundamentalist Christian world view is not only incorrect, it’s also mixed with misunderstandings and at times, purposely distorted information.

But other world views, such as those of the mystics, aren’t entirely correct, either. Different religious traditions have different core views on things, even if in the end we’re all celebrating the One Great Truth or God or what have you.

So, let’s get cracking at this.

The point to consider with any paradigm is that it has limitations. Certain things were not historically and are not presently taken into account in said paradigms. The traditional Christian world view, for instance, does not account for extraterrestrial life or UFOs. This is simply not part of the system, and anyone who suggests that it is seriously has to read it into the text or make guesswork on it. Little grey men with huge eyes are not part of Christianity, and they’re not even really allowed for in the more orthodox view of things, even if the Church is now trying to accommodate for the potential of aliens in the present era.

But better still, for the mystic, it is good to remember that not everything is going to fit into the paradigm. Gnosticism has been the one “catch-all” system that I’ve found so far. It contains the elements that are necessarily mystical while also containing the imagery of Christianity that is so dear to me and also containing the truths of various “pagan” traditions. However, even then, it’s fair to say that Gnosticism doesn’t have room for everything, and…that’s okay!

It’s okay to have a paradigm that doesn’t consider everything. It’s okay to have a paradigm into which you can’t fit every experience. What’s important is to understand that many of the mystic’s experiences are off the charts, off the maps, and not in the literature. And that’s OKAY! We don’t have to force-fit everything into some kind of intellectual framework.

But we also don’t have to do the opposite, which is constantly expanding the paradigm until there is no paradigm. That becomes problematic in a different way, because we’re essentially left groping in the dark for something we cannot find. There is no sign pointing to where we’re supposed to go from there, and we can get lost more easily.

Not everyone is comfortable working within a system. And that’s okay, too! Some people are better at seeking when they don’t have presuppositions or too many reference points. I found my problem was the opposite- with no reference point whatsoever, I had NO sense of direction.